This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words rang true to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a Business Battle
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
